New Level of Fierceness

I got another haircut on Friday.  Nick hasn't noticed yet.  It is a little shorter in front, even a little more short in back, and "stacked" in the back.  I'd post a picture, but I'd have to do my hair first.

This Dog is Fierce, not Hot fierce, just regular fierce.

Kate's House Isn't Pink

The last patch of pink came off of Kate and Tim's house today as the exterior remodel continues. As neighbors have complimented the progress, we've pointed out that they should be fined for allowing the constructors to put a pink house in the neighborbood in the first place. (All that it takes for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.)
For those unfamiliar with the project, it began as a pink, all stucco house. When it finishes, the front exterior will be all brick with concrete moulding inspired by "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" in Disneyland. The other sides of the house have been painted a neutral tan. We'll have to get a before picture from Kate.

The Object of My Desire

 

This is the luxurious pot rack with luxurious pots and pans at our friends' home. Jewel is a pastry chef, so of course she should have her tools as a centerpiece in their home. They're gorgeous. They make me want to deglaze them and make a sauce of some kind. I think this is a beautiful idea, and someday would like something similar to it. I think I'm going to have to wait until Nick has a "real" job, which will be in about seven years.

What a Blossom

Isn't Sam a great gardener? He's grown this beautiful blossom in his front yard? How did he do it you ask? Apparently, ignoring an Iris is essential for beautiful flowers. According to Jo Ellen, Sam says he's done nothing for this flower. It's a perennial so it comes back year after year with no effort. It was originally grown in Jo Ellen's yard and transplanted to Sam's. It's been there for three or four years, so it may need to be split this fall. With the cool spring, we're able to enjoy the irises on Memorial Weekend. It's almost as pretty as a Van Gough.

Life in the Slow Lane

Our "vacation" continue in Bountiful. Nick has been very diligently studying in the upstairs astronaut bedroom. We did go on the adventurous viewing of the new Indiana Jones at the midnight premier. We enjoyed the movie, it was a good adventure. It has some pretty hard to swallow stunts, but the entire premise is so ridiculous, so if you can accept the fundamental premise of the movie, stop thinking and have a good time.
Highlights of the trip so far:
Katie waxed my eyebrows today. While not as perfect as the eyebrow threading I love in St. Louis, it was free. Free is a great thing, especially when you don't have a job.

We spent Sunday May 18 with the Preston/Jacob family, celebrating Mitch's 16th birthday. We helped make Mitch's Snicker doodle cake. We visited the grave site of Deborah's mother, who is buried in Pleasant Grove. Samantha was visiting (but Kyle had to stay in Vegas to work.) We had a really nice time, and Caesar hung out with Sophie and Ivy (those are both dogs too.)

Most embarrassing moment so far: Ever go out into public, let's say, unshowered having worked in the garden? Now, add to that formula an impromptu stop at a rarely visited store which resulted in my basket being filled with potentially embarrassing products. What do you think would happen?
Now when I say embarrassing products, I mean REALLY embarrassing stuff from multiple categories of embarrassing potential. This cart full of products only makes sense with my background of hoarding over-the-counter medications and remedies. When we moved to St. Louis I reviewed my medicine cabinet. I was alarmed I only had one dose of anti-diarrhea medication. So I bought a package from Costco that had 240 doses. That means for the last 2 years, I've had 241 doses because it still hasn't been needed (which is a good thing of course.) I also have just about every legal over-the-counter drug, vitamins, heating pads, remedies- if it's legal, I have it.
So of course when I'm at the very strange NPS store and there are great prices on embarrassing products, I think it's time to stock up on things that are for problems I don't even have. So of course, looking like a hobo with cart full of shame, I'm destined to run into someone I haven't seen in four years and end up talking with them long enough that they have ample time to examine every item in my cart, even though my eyes intentionally never deviated toward the cart. I played it cool man.
I think the only way the contents of the cart could have become more shameful is if I somehow were to add Rogaine, Viagra, and adult diapers- wait- I had the adult diapers.

This Girl is Fierce!

I took pictures for Liz's graduation announcement. We enjoyed our time in the overcast outdoors. I'm posting one of our final selections so we can all admire how beautiful the youngest Smith is, and perhaps admire the small amount of photography skills Kara has.

After the nearly-evenly split poll regarding haircuts, everyone has had their hair cut shorter. Nick and Kara's hair could still use another trim, but for Caesar, this is just about as short as it could be. It's the first time his ears have ever been sheared and he looks adorable. We're not quite sure how he feels about the haircut. He may be wishing we had waiting until after this week's cold spell passed.

In Salt Lake for Summer

For those who are just catching up on Nick and Kara's life, here's the abbreviated version. Kara quit her job. Nick finished his second year of medical school. Nick and Kara flew to Salt Lake on May 13 and will be staying with Doug and Linette until the beginning of July. Nick is essentially studying all day, every day, until June 14th when he takes his board examination. Kara has some odd projects going on, but has quite a bit of free time, much of which is taken up by playing with Caesar, V, and O.
Just in case some robbers are reading this, our apartment is not vacant. The family members of friends from the ward are staying there while they visit Saint Louis. Proving once again, it is a small world, the ward friends know Jamie Stroud, Dave Stroud's son.
We have such good friends in St. Louis it's going to be hard to be away for so long. We've been here a few days and I'm noticing how much I miss them already. Katie and I are doing some gardening, so I've been calling Janette with my random questions about plants. She gave some great over-the-phone instructions.

Tagged Post

Shannon has given me a very odd tag- pick up the nearest book, turn to page 123, find the fifth sentence. Post the next three sentences. Shannon rightfully predicted the book nearest me would "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer. I had just finished it when I checked Shannon's blog.

"Her face was a mass of wrinkles, all of them turning down into angry lines. But there was something familiar about the features behind the lines. Melanie made the connection between this ancient face and another, smoother face in her memory."

I'm not sure what to do with the rest of the tag. I finished The Host in just over a 24-hour period. While I enjoyed it, a lot, I see a few too many similarities between the characters of this book and the Twilight series. I wonder how many stories Stephenie Meyer actually has. Also, since I've been reading books that didn't come out of the scholastic book order, I've read very few books written in first person. But Stephenie Meyer's four books so far are all in first person, and if the other two Twilight books weren't in first person they wouldn't fit in.

The next most recent read was Ether Day. Very interesting. I have it here in Salt Lake with me if anyone wants to borrow it. "Ether Day: America's greatest medical discovery and the haunted men who made it." It's not only about the discovery of surgical anesthesia, but the fight that followed for 30 years over credit, money, and the ability to create a medical patent. It was fascinating.

Fond Farewell to Nursing

I have completed my penultimate day of nursing. When I started out in Critical Care, I had a sort of list of experiences I wanted to have. Most of those were easy to achieve within the first few months of my career. The last item on my list, being the one to call "clear" and pressing the shock button, had eluded me. Somehow in codes, I always took the less glamorous supportive roles. I'm paging doctors, getting the wife on the phone, calling the blood blank, etc. But today, my list is complete. I called "clear" and pressed the button. Some of the drama is gone since we no longer use paddles to shock, but the button is exciting nonetheless. My list is complete and I can "retire" content that I've done and seen, if not all, then most.

More Abuse of Slideshow Feature

Pictures of the Missouri Botanical Garden, including sculptures by mosiac artist, Niki.

Exciting News About Slideshows!

Picasa has finally added an imbedded slideshow application, which means I'll be using them to no end. Let's start now, shall we? Presenting our April pictures.